Not rude, but I could see how someone could mistake it for such, so I’d suggest having a charming and friendly response prepared, just in case.
As someone else mentioned, as long as you are actually standing there, not rude at all!
I used to work at a law firm and people would put in something for five minutes or longer…then forget to come back. You would stand there like an idiot - not wanting to be rude, but hungry - and not wanting to pull the other food out. You wait, and wait…and finally decide to pull theirs out and put yours in. Of course, the very minute you take it out, they come in and give you the evil eye, “Mine wasn’t done yet!”
To make it even less pleasant, it was usually a Partner at the firm who was the guilty party.
How long should I wait for an invisible person to show up to claim their long-finished food?
The way I see it, if the microwave dings and the owner doesn’t show up in a few seconds time to claim their food, you are well within your rights to remove their food and heat your own.
Probably–although I started out with somewhere between a B and a C, because the attitude associated with B was just too glib for me.
So what dire things happen if you microwave two burritos at once*?
Do the emanations from each burrito interact in a confined space to cause a catastrophic explosion? Are the burritos so enormous that you can’t fit more than one into a standard microwave? If one is bean and the other beef, are they incompatible?
*apart from the potential damage to your gastrointestinal tract.
Can you explain? He specifically says this :
At no time am I engaging both microwaves for more than 60 seconds.
If he is using both for 60 seconds, how can the wait be only 30 seconds?
And A, not rude, by the way.
If the item takes one minute to heat, I use one machine for one minute and at the 30 second mark use the second machine. Wait time 30 seconds while the first one finishes.
If the item takes two minutes to heat I use one machine for two minutes and at the one minute mark use the second machine. Wait time 60 seconds while the first one finishes.
And I must say I’m surprised, given the vehemence of responses to other workplace microwave threads, that everyone’s so mellow about this.
ETA: And the reason I don’t just double the time and heat both in one machine is that the one time I tried it they got far too hot and I burned my mouth.
Staggered start times - the second microwave is available up to 30 seconds after the first one is started, the first one is available 30 seconds after the second one is started. The OP said that if someone turns up before he starts the second one, his dual-core microwave processing doesn’t happen.
So…
0-30 seconds: only microwave 1 is in use, microwave 2 is free
30 seconds: microwave 2 is started
30-60 seconds both microwaves in use
60 seconds: microwave 1 finishes and becomes free
60-90 seconds, only microwave 2 is in use, microwave 1 is free
90 seconds: microwave 2 finishes and now both are free.
If you were God, this would be simultaneously possible and impossible.
Hmm, I would actually say B. The point of having >1 microwave oven is so that >1 person can heat their lunch at the same time, not so that one person can heat in parallel. It just seems to go against the spirit of the office kitchen, or at least that’s what I would think if I were waiting to heat my food. But a friendly “Oh, there’s only 45 seconds left!”, to acknowledge that yes, am I standing here waiting, would probably be enough to get rid of my minor annoyance.
Is there any reason you can’t put them in at the same time, and then take one out if someone else comes along? Really, that would maximize microwave-second usage – if no one is using #2 then I’d see no reason not to pop your food in, it’s just when someone else wants it that it’s a question.
If both microwaves are in use for 60 seconds, as the OP states, they are unavailable for anyone else to use for 60 seconds.
The food takes two minutes to heat, not one. Microwave 2 isn’t started until 60 seconds have passed, not 30.
All scenarios that involve someone using microwave 2 before Otto does don’t apply, as the there is no wait.
I agree with this. It may only be a minute to you but that’s a minute of cooking time the other person lost. So yes, it’s a little rude and annoying and you should apologize to the other person, but I think it would be better to just work out how much time it would take to do both items in the same microwave or just do one and then the other in the same microwave, after all you can’t eat them both at the same time why do you have to cook them at the same time?
Why don’t you cut the burritos into segments and arrange them evenly over the cooking surface? Much neater to eat. And aren’t there any Giant Microwave Burritos on the market?
By the way, here’s an educational website for burrito preparers.
I think I’d rather eat one of those hot dogs that have been turning in the roller machine at the movie theater for the entire weekend.
I’m going with B. It’s rude, but so incredibly mildly that it’s not worth getting worked up over at all. I’d use the time to socialize with you.
OK. What am I missing here? One unit of time is just right for one burrito. Two units is too hot for two burritos. Can we try, say, a unit and a half and see where that leaves us?
Sorry, didn’t answer the OP. I’d go for “B,” but mostly confusion as why you couldn’t make both burritos in one microwave.
As my best friend would say –
Seriously, Dude - It’s a microwave.
If no one was present, I would take the law of averages and cook both at the same time in seperate microwaves. You’re looking at a possible time loss of 1 minute if someone comes up precisely as you start both microwaves. BFD. They are taking the chance by coming over that both micros are currently in use, andway. They are gambling that one may be free to heat their food - which probably takes much longer than two minutes to cook.
Someone who would get upset over this would probably be the type of person to get upset over just about anything that doesn’t go their way.
In the co-op dorms at school, we had 4 four-slot toasters. We would routinely go to one, put four slices of bread in, and repeat until the loaf was finished. That meant we were using all 16 slots to cook our loaf of raisin bread for breakfast (several of us would do this). No one thought it inconsiderate to do it if you were the only one there. If someone else shows up during the toasting process, well, you got there first.
It’s like being upset when you go to the cashier at the store and there is someone in front of you. Seriously, dude. There’s bigger problems in life than learning to be patient.
Yeah, I guess that’s true. But really, it’s not that much different than if a person arrived and found the OP using one microwave and another person using the second one. I could definitely see this being a problem if it were a longer amount of time (or if the OP didn’t hang out near the microwaves to pull out his burritos as soon as they were done), but in this case I just can’t see the point in getting exercised over it. I’m one of those people who mouths “Hurry!” at microwave ovens (in other words, I’m not the world’s most patient person) but this wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.
I’m clearly confused. If the food takes two minutes, and he starts both ovens at the same time, how can the wait be only one minute?
Ditto. Knowing the whole story, it’s actually quite nice how careful and considerate you’ve been in arranging things. But somebody who walks up isn’t going to know the whole story, and is just going to see you monopolizing the nukers.
So A in the real world, C for somebody who leaps to conclusions.